This Is Me……or How I Got Here

It’s funny how life turns out isn’t? When you’re young and enthusiastic about life you make grand plans.

You know who you are, where you’re going, how you’re going to get there, and how long it’s going to take you…….

And then reality rears its head and everything starts spinning out of control!!

At 21 my life was planned out. I had qualified as a Registered Nurse. Had a good job,  a lovely fiance, and a wedding to plan

                                                                                                                         

Then one evening, as I was sat in the kitchen, listening to lovely fiance’s accounts of his day (he was a teacher), and trying not to fall asleep, I was hit by a thunder bolt!!

I suddenly realised I couldn’t marry him…

So I told him as gently as I could,( If I’m honest he seemed more relieved than upset.) packed a bag and said I was going to spend a few days with friends  to clear my head.

Well…..those few days turned into 3 months!  I took all the annual leave I was entitled to and didn’t return to my job, spent a long hot summer lazing on the beach by day and partying by night. Something I’d not done for some time, seeing as I’d been engaged since I was 19!! ( but that’s another blog)

The plan was then to go and work in Amsterdam with my best friend from my training days….who also had just had a lucky escape .

Of  course, we didn’t have enough money to go straight away so set ourselves a target date of 9 months to save enough. J went back to Dorset where she took a post and I took a job in our local hospital.

Plans back on track…….or were they???

Oh No!!!!

J had only been back in Dorset for about 3 minutes when she met the love of her life…. and me?

Well, shock horror!!  I met Mr. S, the only available, eligible bachelor in town…( Well, I say bachelor…technically he wasn’t as he had been married and divorced before I set eyes on him)

Much to the chagrin of many of the local girls, who had been working flat-out to catch his eye and interest!! There is still one who hasn’t forgiven me!!

Obviously I wasn’t looking for commitment or marriage, and he was!! So he had his work cut out for him….he persevered and I was eventually worn down.

I explained to him that my career meant everything to me, and that there was no way on earth I was cut out to be a housewife or was ever, EVER going to have children. Not only would  they would interfere with my rapid climb up the career ladder, but  no way was I going to have my lovely social life spoilt by nappies, night feeds and teething!!   He agreed, having already had a taste of fatherhood.

And so our life together began.  A whirl of work, sailing, parties, and weekends away…and we even managed to squeeze in a wedding one Monday afternoon!!

On a flight back from  Jersey one weekend a family with the cutest, most gorgeous baby girl, were sitting in front of us on the plane.

Suddenly I was overtaken by the most weird feeling…..and, strangely enough, so was Mr S. We looked at each other and said  “Oooh, shall we have one of those”???

So we started our foray into parenthood……a long, complicated, and sometimes heartbreaking journey, but one which resulted in 3 beautiful children.

Actually one of the most distressing moments were when I was in labour with our daughter. It was the summer of 1982, and a Thursday night….for those of us who remember Thursday night was Top of The Pops night,  and the number one was “Come on Eileen” So I had the entire obstetrics team singing it to me at regular intervals  during a 29 hour labour…and people wonder why I hate it!!!!

Our 2 boys followed in 1987 and  1991.

I had 18 months away from work after I had K, but  by the time the boys were born I was in a senior post and returned to work after 6 weeks, in fact after N, our youngest, was born I  was back at meetings when he was 3 weeks old, madness I know!.. but you have to remember we were the “have it all” generation!!

We were lucky enough to be able to employ nannies so the children’s lives were not disrupted too much….and that is definitely another story!!

I continued my climb up the career ladder which brought with it many challenges both at work and home but we all survived… just about

Les enfants are grown and flown from the nest now..K married and with the 2 adorable grandsons and the boys with their careers and homes

Which leaves me working part-time… got the work/life balance right now…bit late but hey never mind!!…..

and with time on my hands to blog!!

So that’s me in a nutshell… a whistle-stop tour of my life……

Thanks for indulging me

Stay tuned…. there will be more x